Technologies
Streaming TV With a VPN Is Easy With These Devices
These devices make it easy to safely and securely stream your favorite shows and movies.
Using a virtual private network to stream videos on your standard or smart TV sounds overly complicated and difficult. Never fear — there are a few devices that make using a VPN on your TV as easy as using your favorite phone app.
There are a few reasons why you might want to use a VPN to stream shows and movies on your TV. Using a VPN will help keep your viewing habits private, and it will give you access to more streaming content from different parts of the world.
If either of those reasons sound enticing to you, we’ve picked four devices that easily let you stream your favorite shows while using a VPN. And if you aren’t sure which VPN is right for you, check out our picks for the best VPNs.
Amazon Fire TV Sticks can be as cheap as $30, are easy to set up on your TV, and are one of the simplest ways to stream TV with a third-party VPN app.
Once you’ve plugged your Fire Stick in to your TV and followed the on-screen setup, you can download apps for some of CNET’s best VPNs for Fire Sticks, like Surfshark, NordVPN and ExpressVPN. If you don’t subscribe to any of those VPN services, no worries. Each offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try each one risk-free until you find the right one for you.
Here’s how to download a VPN app onto your Fire Stick.
1. Open your Fire Stick on your TV.
2. Open the app.
3. Open Search.
4. Type in the name of the VPN you want to download.
5. Click Get.
After you’ve downloaded a VPN app onto your Fire Stick, go back to your home screen to open the app and log in to your account. Then, you can connect to a VPN server in the country or region where you want to unlock specific content, or you can connect to a local VPN server for better private streaming speeds. After connecting to a VPN server, you’re all set to securely watch shows and movies in privacy.
Amazon Fire TVs come built-in with all the same capabilities of a Fire Stick, meaning you get all the same features without having to use a precious HDMI slot. Even the Fire TV’s interface is the same as the Fire Stick. To use a VPN through a Fire TV, follow the same steps as above to download a third-party VPN app, log in to your account, connect to the VPN server you want to use and start streaming TV.
However, Fire TVs can cost between $370 and $1,100. So buying a Fire TV to stream shows and movies through a VPN is like buying a new car because you want a new paint job. If your TV works and it can use a Fire Stick, save yourself the money and buy a Fire Stick. But if you’re in the market for a new TV, and you want to use a VPN to stream content, consider a Fire TV to upgrade your streaming experience.
Chromecast with Google TV, like the Fire Stick, is another easy to use device that lets you stream TV through a third-party VPN app for around $40.
After you’ve plugged your Chromecast with Google TV in to your TV and followed the setup instructions, you can download most VPN apps, like ExpressVPN and NordVPN, onto your device. If you don’t have a subscription to a VPN service, most offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try them out risk-free until you find one you’re happy with.
Here’s how to download most third-party VPN apps onto your Chromecast with Google TV.
1. On your Chromecast device, go to the Apps tab.
2. Select Search for app under App categories.
3. Type in the name of the VPN app you want to download.
4. Select Install.
After installing your VPN app, open it from your Chromecast with Google TV’s home screen and log in to your account. Then, connect to a VPN server in the country or region you want to unlock content from. You can also connect to a local VPN server for better private streaming speeds. After that, you’re set to securely watch shows and movies.
ExpressVPN’s Aircove router costs less than $200, and it allows you to run all your internet traffic through a VPN, not just your TV. The router has built-in VPN protection, a range of 1,600 square feet, and it allows unlimited simultaneous connections. These unlimited connections can be organized in up to five different groups, too, so if you live with four other people, each person in your house can be connected to a different server location at the same time.
However, you need an ExpressVPN account to use the router’s VPN capabilities. That means you’ll have to switch to ExpressVPN if you have an account with another VPN service. You’ll also need to use your laptop or smartphone to set up your router. That makes setup on the Aircove slightly more complicated than Fire Stick and Fire TV, which you can simply plug in and follow the on-screen instructions.
But once you’ve finished the Aircove’s initial setup, you’ve thrown a blanket of protection over all the internet traffic that runs through the router, which makes it a good option for people looking to run other devices at home through a VPN.
Coming soon: Apple TV
Apple also announced in the follow-up to its WWDC keynote that TVOS 17 will support third-party VPN apps, like Surfshark, NordVPN and ExpressVPN, when it comes out this fall. That means you’ll be able to download VPN apps onto your Apple TV, and you should be able to use them in the same way you’d use them on your Fire Stick.
For more on VPNs, check out CNET’s best overall VPN services of 2023, the best VPN for your smart TV and how to set up a VPN on your smart TV.
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Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Jan. 25
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 25.
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It might help to be a Scrabble player. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Some breakfast drinks, for short
Answer: OJS
4A clue: Ready for business
Answer: OPEN
5A clue: Information gathered by a spy
Answer: INTEL
6A clue: Highest-scoring Scrabble word with four tiles (22)
Answer: QUIZ
7A clue: Nine-digit ID
Answer: SSN
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Agree to receive promotional emails, say
Answer: OPTIN
2D clue: Second-highest-scoring Scrabble word with four tiles (20)
Answer: JEEZ
3D clue: Sketch comedy show since ’75
Answer: SNL
4D clue: Burden
Answer: ONUS
5D clue: Geniuses have high ones
Answer: IQS
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Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 25, #489
Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 25, No. 489.
Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition grid started with a funny message: SUPER BOWL ORR BUST. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Bummer!
Green group hint: Add three letters.
Blue group hint: Noted hockey players.
Purple group hint: Not the moon, but …
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Disappointment.
Green group: Sports, with «-ing.»
Blue group: Hall of Fame NHL defensemen.
Purple group: ____ star(s)
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is disappointment. The four answers are bust, dud, failure and flop.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is sports, with «-ing.» The four answers are bowl, box, curl and surf.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Hall of Fame NHL defensemen. The four answers are Bourque, Coffey, Leetch and Orr.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is ____ star(s). The four answers are all, Chicago, Dallas and super.
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Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 25 #959
Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 25, No. 959
Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Really, New York Times? The paper noted for being rather sedate actually put the words SUB and DOM next to each other in today’s NYT Connections puzzle. Of course, they didn’t mean what they could have meant, and they did not end up in the same category, but still. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Like an understudy.
Green group hint: Delete is another one.
Blue group hint: Like penne.
Purple group hint: At the end of words.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Act as a backup.
Green group: PC keyboard keys.
Blue group: Pasta shapes.
Purple group: Suffixes.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is act as a backup. The four answers are cover, fill in, sub and temp.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is PC keyboard keys. The four answers are alt, enter, menu and windows.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is pasta shapes. The four answers are bowtie, ribbon, shell and tube.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is suffixes. The four answers are ate, dom, hood and ship.
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